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About the Petition

NASA’s Planetary Science Division is responsible for carrying out missions, studying the origins of asteroids, and how they relate to planetary formations and structures. Current plans include a mission to explore the subsurface ocean of Europa and a venture to fly past Pluto in 2015; these missions could lead to discoveries of water sources and space organics.

However, if Congress is successful in dramatically slashing the division’s budget by nearly $200 million, these missions could be suspended. Stand with organizations like The Planetary Society and demand that Congress protect the Planetary Science Division of NASA.

Photo Credit: NASA/Reuters

To: U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate

NASA’s Planetary Science Division missions have led to new scientific and technological discoveries, advancing our thought and perspective on the universe. These robotic missions to the solar system have included Cassini at Saturn, Opportunity and Curiosity on Mars, and the twin Voyager probes. I support space exploration, a mission to Europa, and bringing back samples from Mars to Earth; without proper funding NASA’s Planetary Science Division may have to cancel these important projects.

I stand with organizations like The Planetary Society in urging Congress to protect this vital division of NASA. This is key to understanding new frontiers.

Sincerely,

[Your name here]

Action Updates

17 October 2013

NASA’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2014

NASA’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2014, “fully funds the James Webb Space Telescope, a 100-times more capable successor to the Hubble Telescope, to keep it on track for launch in 2018. Within the current constrained funding environment, the Budget funds high- priority planetary science missions, including a robotic sample return mission from an asteroid, and multiple missions focused on Mars exploration, including a new large rover to be launched in 2020.”
source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2014/assets/budget.pdf http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2014/assets/budget.pdf